Who’s your daddy?

Sorry, just reliving last night’s Addison-Alex kissing scene at Joe’s Bar. But actually, you know what? The Grey’s writers could have gotten A&A married, resurrected Denny and put Izzie in full-on nervous-breakdown mode again, and it still wouldn’t have taken away from T.R. Knight’s awesome performance in the minutes surrounding Papa O’Malley’s death. (Although, for the record, I don’t want ANY of those things to happen.)

In a week in which Knight has gotten more attention for his personal life than he probably ever wanted, maybe this episode will bring him some much-deserved recognition for his acting chops. But more on that later.

This week’s theme clearly revolves around the various characters’ daddy issues, almost too obviously. Mer’s “ex-father,” Thatcher is still lurking around the hospital as baby Laura gains strength. Meredith can’t believe she’s related to that “stammering, nervous mess” of a man, but as Izzie and Cristina point out, she’s got more in common with him than she thinks — right down to the food in her hair and the Band-Aids she sometimes wears on her face. “I can even see the indentures on your nose from the Breathe-Right strip you wore last night,” Izzie teases.

The snoring issue still hasn’t been resolved, and for one more week we can breath easy knowing that things are quiet (relatively speaking) — and therefore tolerable — on the Mer-Der front. It’s nice that the writers recognize not every week has to be about deceptions, infidelities, distrust and so on. Sometimes, people are just happy.

Also happy this week are Heather, the formerly disgruntled, twisted-spine girl, and her mom. So what if the insurance wouldn’t pay for Heather’s “experimental” surgery? An anonymous donor has just contributed a whopping $300,000 to pay for the surgery. Wonder who that could be?

Bailey knows immediately who’s behind this surprising act of generosity — a certain blonde-haired, personally involved millionaire. Did Izzie seriously just spend $300,000 so she could scrub in on a cool surgery? No, Izzie says, she spent the money because it would improve Heather’s quality of life. That’s too bad — Bailey says she was hoping it had been because she wanted to scrub in. Aaaand it’s back to square one for Izzie — is she a surgeon, or is she not?

As for all the Addy-Mark weirdness that was happening last week, my guess about an abortion was right. Addison spills to Callie that, eight months ago, she aborted Mark’s baby. Today would have been the baby’s due date. Excuse me while I interrupt this highly emotional exchange for something kind of petty — it’s only been EIGHT MONTHS since Addison arrived in Seattle?!? Why can’t this show just use a normal timeline? I don’t buy that two and a half seasons’ worth of drama could be squeezed into eight real-time months. No way.

I’m not liking Addison so much right now, due to all the Alex inappropriateness, but I’ll give Kate Walsh some props. She makes Addison’s plight completely sympathetic. Her confrontation with Mark is particularly awesome, and how awful must it have been for him to hear her say, “I did want a baby — with Derek. I just didn’t want one with you”? Am I feeling sorry for McSteamy?

Addison is right, though — he would have made a terrible father. His later scene with Callie has me a little … curious, maybe? I guess it’s the way Callie asks him questions to determine whether he’d be a good father. Mark’s answers, while certainly indicative of poor father potential, are at least honest. “Are you a family kind of guy? Are you close to your family?” she asks. “Derek was my family,” is his answer. Aww. I AM feeling sorry for McSteamy.

And is it just me, or is Callie glowing when she tells Mark that she knows one good man who is into family and who would make a great father? (Oh, and how beautiful is Sara Ramirez looking these days? Less hair goop, less makeup and she’s a knockout!) Am I the only one who thinks she might have a little somethin’ in the oven? Let’s just pray it’s NOT McSteamy’s.

It’s just occurred to me, while watching this episode, that George, of all the characters on this show, is the only one who appears to have a normal family life. So what if his brothers are tough, dumb guys with whom he has nothing in common. He has a loving mom and dad, who have by all accounts been present throughout his life — until now. Papa O’Malley is still alive, but as George says, “He’s not Dad like this.” Following a high-emotion incident in which he has to be re-intubated, there’s still the likely possibility that Mr. O’Malley will never wake up.

And this is right about when George goes off the deep end. When he learns that Bailey and the chief opted to proceed with the dangerous surgery at his father’s insistence, he flips. This is where we get that overplayed scene from the promos where George screams, “You knew better!” Isn’t it dangerous or illegal or something to cause this kind of a scene in the middle of a busy hospital? George himself should know better, but he’s clearly not rational.

Things go from chaotic to bittersweet when the family gathers around to discuss their patriarch’s fate. The brothers O’Malley, who have never once shown George an ounce of respect, actually turn to him to make the decision about whether to end their dad’s life support. He agrees that they should, and the waterworks begin. The scene in which the tube is actually removed is pretty darn sad, and T.R. Knight knocks it right out of the park. Get this boy an Emmy nod, stat!

That aside, am I the only one who felt a little weird seeing George and Burke having a moment in the latter’s hospital room? I love, love, love their mentor-student friendship on the show, but the recent tension between Isaiah Washington and T.R. Knight makes it hard to appreciate the characters without thinking of their real-life alter egos. Likewise, it’s hard for me to want Cristina to give in and talk to Burke, even though this nonsense has gone on long enough. He needs to make the first move.

I’m a little let down by the eventual confrontation between Mer and Thatcher, where she asks him to tell her his side of the story. Should have known Thatch would barely be able to speak a coherent sentence without choking up. I think Thatcher’s a good guy and that Mer should cut him some slack, especially since his second wife wants so badly for her to be part of their family. Learning that Mer got her snoring habit from Thatcher is a little predictable, but it’s nice that they have some kind of tie now.

The ongoing question as to whether or not Izzie is a surgeon is getting a little old, so I’m glad she finally answers it and puts her foot down with Bailey. She says she’s both — she’s a surgeon, and she’s also someone who personally cares about her patients. She does, however, promise that she’ll never make a mistake like she did with Denny again. But when she sees Heather walking upright — and smiling! — at the end, she knows her money has been well spent.

I’d prefer not to revisit the ending with Alex and Addison, but since I know this storyline is far from over, I’ll say this much: They’re both gorgeous people who need some lovin’ right now, so I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. Besides, the way she strokes the side of his face before she goes in for the kiss is a little, um, maternal, and that’s just weird.

Next week’s preview teases three big shockers, which may or may not be as exciting as they’re hyped up to be, but I guess we’ll see. But I promise, if any of them involve a resurrected Denny, I’ll whine more than George, Mer and Izzie this season combined.